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Traffic alert: Overnight delays on southbound I-81 Wednesday near Staunton

vdot logo Motorists can expect overnight delays on southbound Interstate 81 near Staunton on Wednesday, April 5.

Contractors for the Virginia Department of Transportation are scheduled to remove a large overhead sign at mile marker 222.4 in Augusta County near the city.

Lane and on-ramp closures and slow-roll traffic control will be necessary beginning at 8 p.m. on Wednesday. The right and center lanes of southbound I-81 will be closed between exit 222 (Route 250/Staunton) and exit 221 (to eastbound I-64). Southbound motorists on I-81 will be able to access I-64 eastbound at exit 221, but the on-ramp from Route 250 onto southbound I-81 will be closed to traffic.

Law enforcement will lead a slow traffic roll between 11:30 p.m. and midnight starting at exit 227 (Route 612/Verona) and going south past the work zone. The slow traffic roll will create a 15-minute gap in traffic which will allow a crane to remove the sign. During the slow-roll, the on-ramp to southbound I-81 from exit 225 (Route 262/Woodrow Wilson Parkway) will be briefly closed.

Work is weather permitted. In the event of inclement weather Wednesday night, sign removal will be rescheduled for the night of Thursday, April 6.

Rebecca Barnabi

Rebecca Barnabi

Rebecca J. Barnabi is the national editor of Augusta Free Press. A graduate of the University of Mary Washington, she began her journalism career at The Fredericksburg Free-Lance Star. In 2013, she was awarded first place for feature writing in the Maryland, Delaware, District of Columbia Awards Program, and was honored by the Virginia School Boards Association’s 2019 Media Honor Roll Program for her coverage of Waynesboro Schools. Her background in newspapers includes writing about features, local government, education and the arts.